If you play games on your PC, you’ve most probably heard of Valve’s Steam. Steam is a gaming platform which goes beyond just selling and managing games for you.
Today, Steam is a community of millions of PC gamers around the world in addition to being perhaps the most popular online game retailer.
However, that’s not to say that there are no other valuable gaming platforms out there. Recently many platforms have been emerging for PC players that have opened up a bunch of other alternatives to try. They all have their own pros and cons, but it’s always better to have more options.
In this post, we bring you 15 Steam alternatives that you can try out.
Also read: Here’s how you can choose which GPU is used by a game on Windows 10
Origin
Origin is a PC gaming platform built by the popular video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA). Origin is available across PC, Android macOS, iOS and the Facebook platform. While Origin heavily revolves around games by EA, you can still find other games here too and sometimes with pretty amazing discounts.
Pros
- Quick access to EA exclusives
- Origin Access
- Try out games before buying
- Affordable prices for most games
Cons
- Okay-ish community support
- Lacks some social features
- Mediocre game catalogue
Uplay
Pros
- Easy access to Ubisoft Exclusives
- Cross-platform availability
Cons
- Used exclusively by first-party Ubisoft games.
- Poor community support
- Poor game catalogue (apart from Ubisoft Exclusives)
Green Man Gaming
You might not have heard of this name before, but the amazing game catalogue here will surprise you. Green Man Gaming has a collection of thousands of old games and latest releases alike. They also allow you to buy games for your PC, Mac or console all from one place.
Pros
- Amazing game catalogue
- Competitive prices
- Good Community/Customer support
- Awesome buyer protection policy
Cons
- Lacks a downloadable standalone client
- Lacks social features
- No awards/achievements for in-game missions
- No game stat tracking
Also read: 5 common mistakes that compromises your gaming console’s security
GameFly
GameFly is an online game rental service for PC and Console games. You can rent games and even movies for a very affordable monthly subscription fee. Currently, GameFly offers about 8000 titles across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Wii U, 3DS, GameBoy Advance, PSP and PlayStation Vita.
Pros
- Rent games instead of buying
- Affordable pricing
- Movies available too
- Cross-platform availability
Cons
- It’s not clear whether GameFly ships internationally
- Mediocre game catalogue
Kinguin
Kinguin is an online store for video game keys and items. You can purchase game keys for cheap here and then unlock the game later on your platform of choice. Kinguin also sells in-game items such as weapon skins and crates. You can get PC, Console or even Android games here.
Pros
- Cross-platform availability
- Keys/items usually cheaper than on other platforms
- Independence to play games on any platform
Cons
- Some games are region specific
- Lacks most social/community features
G2A
G2a is a digital marketplace for games. You can consider it similar to Amazon but for games. G2A features frequent weekly and monthly sales, which means you can get your favourite games for really good prices sometimes. What makes G2A stand out among the competition is the fact that you can sell games on it as well. You can buy games for PC, Xbox, PlayStation and even Android.
Pros
- Good game catalogue
- Competitive prices
- Frequent sales
- Option to sell previously owned games
- Cross-platform availability
- Gaming Hardware available too
Cons
- Some products are region specific
- Questionable international shipping
- Some consider G2A a grey marketplace
GOG
GOG stands for Good Old Games. As you might have guessed, this online game distribution platform revolves heavily around older games. However, in the wake of modernisation, GOG now offers a pretty decent game catalogue that includes new releases and competitive prices. GOG also features a movie section titled ‘Movies for gamers’.
Pros
- Decent game catalogue
- Older games available (that otherwise might be hard to find)
- Competitive prices
- Good community support
- Downloadable client (for Windows)
Cons
- Some modern titles might not be available
- No achievements/awards
- GOG galaxy lacks features like screenshots and overlays
Also read: The Epic war: PC vs Console vs Mobile gaming
GameStop
GameStop is an American video game and consumer electronics, retailer. Usually known for its physical stores, GameStop is now pretty big online as well. They feature what is possibly the biggest game library across all major platforms like PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox Nintendo, PSP and so on. It also allows the sale of pre-owned titles and electronics alike
Pros
- Large game library
- Competitive prices
- Decent customer support
- Cross-platform availability
- Electronics available as well
Cons
- Some products may be region locked
- No downloadable client
- Lacks social/community features
- Questionable international service
Battle.net
Battle.net is an online gaming/social media platform developed by Blizzard Gaming. It offers a community-based gaming experience to its users. It also features an Android/iOS app that allows users to chat with and add friends and also lets them see what games they are playing.
Pros
- Decent community support
- Integration with downloaded games
- Frequent sales/discounts
Cons
- Blizzard exclusive games only
- PC exclusive
Direct2Drive
Direct2Drive is an online PC games store. As the name suggests, it offers direct downloads for all its games. You can buy games for various platforms such as Steam, PlayStation, Xbox and even standalone games. They also boast a custom streaming service and reward structure for buyers.
Pros
- Cross-platform availability
- Achievement/reward system in place
- Easy game downloads
- Competitive prices
Cons
- Mediocre game library
- No downloadable client
- Lacks community/social features
Itch.io
Itch.io is a website for individual gamers or companies to host, download and sell indie games. You can play, buy and download from possibly the largest collection on indie games on the internet. They feature a downloadable client for Windows, macOS and Linux as well. Oh, and they’re open source too.
Pros
- Great collection of Indie games
- Amazing community support
- Upload your own games
- Attractive prices
- Free games available too
Cons
- Indie Game exclusive
- Lacks cross-platform support
Also read: The rise of eSports in India
Humble Bundle
Humble Bundle is an online video game storefront which as the name suggests, sells games in bundles. Users can subscribe to a monthly bundle and get hand curated bundles of games. They offer a decent game catalogue and competitive prices. You can get games for Steam, Origin, Uplay and Linux as well.
P.S They support some charities as well. Hence the name, ‘Humble’ Bundle.
Pros
- Great value for money
- Ability to choose a gaming platform
- Decent game catalogue
Cons
- Monthly subscription required
- No downloadable client
- Lacks community/social features
GamersGate
GamersGate is a Swiss online game retailer. Apart from the usual game business, GamersGate also provides electronic strategy guides for games as well. They offer games for Windows, Mac, Linux and even Android. The prices are attractive. They even have a section for games under $1.
Pros
- Attractive prices
- Strategy guides
- Cross-platform availability
Cons
- Mediocre game collection
- Lacks community/social features
- No award/achievement system
Discord
Discord is primarily a VoIP service for gamers. It recently started offering games on its platform as well. The game library is short as the service is still in its beta stage, but there’s more to come. The games are good despite the short collection and the prices are justified.
Pros
- A very pretty client
- Decent games
- Good integration and game management
Cons
- Small game library
- Some games may be region specific
- Playing and installing games is limited to Windows
- No manual installation allowed
Windows Store
Last but not the least, If you’re a gamer, chances are you’re running a Windows 10 PC. The Window 10 App store offers some pretty good features. It has come a long way from being absolute crap. You can get games that you can share between your Xbox and your PC for some really good value. There are a bunch of Microsoft exclusives on the store as well as a lot of third party games too.
Pros
- Play games across your Windows 10 devices and Xbox
- Decent pricing
- Good integration with Windows
- Xbox awards/achievements on PC
- Xbox community and social features
Cons
- Incredibly small game library
- PlayStation users exist?
- Updates require a complete reinstallation in some cases
This is the end of our list of the top 15 Steam alternatives. If you think we’ve missed any, drop a comment below.
Also read: Is it worth becoming a Pro Gamer in India?
